14/365 District 9

Starring:   Sharlto Copley, Eugene Khumbanyiwa, Jason Cope

Genre: Sci-Fi

Discovery:  When asking around for recommendations, someone told me this was “way cool” alien flick.

Summary:  Wikus (Sharlto Copley), an employee of MNU, has to move the aliens in district 9 to a new area because the humans are unhappy with them inhabiting earth.  Through an unfortunate accident Wikus gets sprayed with a chemical that starts turning him into an alien.  In the end he has to chose between what is right & becoming human again.

First Glance:  This film was shot entirely in South Africa on location.  The camera was hand-held which gave you a sense of being right in the middle of the action. (Behind the scenes girl says: The aliens were phenomenal.  The had a texture and depth to their exo-skeletons that is sometimes lacking with typical CGI creatures.  It was not motion capture even though the aliens portray real emotions & movement)

Deeper Look:  When the movie opens up the main character is someone who annoys the heck out of me.  As the film progresses, you see him develop & take a journey that makes him much more sympathetic.  Wikus starts thinking about the treatment of the aliens.  Johnson, an alien, that he offers to help at first for his own selfish reasons;  ultimately it turns into a personal sacrifice in order to get Johnson home to get “help” for the aliens being tortured by MNU scientists.  Don’t think this mission comes without a price.  It’s huge.  I won’t give it away though.

What I Took Away from this Movie:  Aliens are people, too.

Final Glimpse: For not being a sci-fi nut, I very much enjoyed this movie & want to see this director next movie (also a sci-fi!)